E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.3 page 24 medical expertise; however no responses have been received yet. Moreover, a number of key factors hinder the progress in the investigations. The information regarding his injuries was reported long after he was arrested (i.e. he was arrested on 23 April and his injuries were reported on 4 July). This has complicated the determination of the origin and condition of his injuries. Most crucial to the investigation is the precise determination of the date of the injuries, but this remains impossible. After the case was opened, Sulkhan Molashvili refused to cooperate with the investigating authorities. On 6 July he exercised his right to remain silent; on 7 July he gave his first statement; and only on 20 September did he confirm his previous testimony. On each occasion he did not provide any useful information for the investigation, but rather promised to provide additional information if he considered it appropriate. His testimonies were vague and inconsistent, and he continues to refuse to identify the perpetrators without specifying any reasons. While it is claimed that the injuries on his feet were caused by electric shock, it is common knowledge that he suffers from varicose veins, for which he was receiving medical treatment, which he himself confirms. In conclusion, due regard should be given to the fact that beatings and torture are usually resorted to as a means of forcibly obtaining confessions from accused persons. There existed enough evidence to prove the guilt of Sulkhan Molashvili for his suspected crimes, and there was no need for his confession. Therefore, there was no motive on the part of the law enforcement authorities to have perpetrated the alleged ill-treatment. 9. David Mindadze, aged 27. On 13 May 2004, at around 10 a.m., near the Varketili Metro Station, Mr. Mindadze was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was brought to the Tbilisi Head Department of Internal Affairs and taken to an office on the twelfth floor. He was seated on a chair with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He refused to confess, and the policemen began to beat him with truncheons, hit him with an iron lock in the face, and applied electric shocks to his legs and feet. He was beaten with a plastic beverage bottle filled with water. The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, an investigator of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and a lawyer also participated in the beatings. His wife and infant daughter were threatened. The treatment lasted until around 3 p.m., after which he was taken down to the basement cell. His family was not informed of his whereabouts for three days. Among his injuries were a fractured temporal bone and upper jaw. He subsequently developed epilepsy, and he suffers from disturbed sleep, flashbacks, blackouts, loss of vision, memory difficulties, headaches and tremors. On 16 May 2004, he was remanded in pretrial detention and transferred to Prison No. 7. Upon his transfer, he did not indicate to the doctor at the prison the nature of his injuries because he was afraid and exhausted. At the request of his lawyer, a criminal case into the torture claim was initiated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and in November 2004, the Office reported that there was no evidence of torture. On appeal, the Tbilisi District Court upheld the appeal, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court in February 2005, and the case was returned to the Public Prosecutor to reinvestigate the torture claim. At the time of the Special Rapporteur’s visit with David Mindadze at Prison No. 7 on 24 February 2005, he had been in detention for almost 10 months and, despite his poor health, has remained in pretrial detention in Prison No. 7 for much of this time. 10. The Government reported that on 13 May 2004, David Mindadze was arrested by members of the Search Unit of the Tbilisi City Police on suspicion of attempted murder. On 8 October 2004, the Procuracy received a complaint from the wife of David Mindadze that an investigator of the Tbilisi City Prosecutor’s Office and officers of the Central Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had beaten and tortured her husband to obtain a confession.